Thursday, December 16, 2004
A Bed of Pasta:
I took off my bedsheets so that I can wash them. Between the sheets and the mattress, I found the strangest thing. There was a neat little pile of yellow-orange stringy stuff. It looked like a bunch of ramen or spaghetti noodles, but it wasn't soggy. I don't remember eating in bed recently. Anyway, I don't know what I was thinking, but as I was throwing the stuff away, I started to wonder what it tasted like. Big mistake. I soon realized (as I spat it out of my mouth) that it wasn't food at all. It was an old rubber band that was somehow ground up into little bits and neatly piled by my movements as I slept. Blech...
Lesson Of The Day: Rubber bands are like thicker and more elastic versions of dental floss without the minty flavor. Definitely not gourmet quality.
Movie Review Time:
Reading Amy's post about a mysterious call prompted me to watch Chakushin Ari aka You've Got A Call aka One Missed Call. The basic premise is that the characters receive a call on their cell phone. They find out that the call is from their own cell number with a time and date a couple of days into the future. The voice mail message is their own voice first saying something pretty normal like "It started raining" or "I'll take you to Popeye's" (jk). Then the message ends with a horrible scream. A few days later, when the time designated on the phone call arrives, the character dies a mysterious death. I don't know about you, but if I knew what my last words are going to be, I'd probably make an effort to avoid saying them. Sadly, the characters in the movie don't follow this advice. So... Manny, maybe you should refrain from offering to buy some chicken until you guys figure out that call.
Sure, it sounds like The Ring with cell phones or even an old Smallville episode, but this is probably one of the scariest movies I've seen in a while. Maybe it's because I can relate to a cell phone more than to VHS tapes. It's amazing how a simple everyday object can be turned around into a messenger of doom. Call me masochistic, but I changed the ringtone on my cell to the clown-like one from the movie. Creeped me out the first couple of times my phone rang. Anyway, here's my plan:
1. Find someone to watch the movie with me.
2. Have someone else call my cell phone afterwards.
3. Scream uncontrollably.
4. Repeat.
There were a couple more things of note. The main character was played by Kou Shibasaki who was in Battle Royale, another great movie. At least I know she's not getting typecast. In Battle Royale, she played this sickle-wielding psycho schoolgirl with acceptance issues. She's pretty timid in this movie. On the other hand, another actress from Battle Royale, Chiaki Kuriyama, looks like she may be typecast as a sadistic schoolgirl. You may recognize her as Gogo Yubari from Kill Bill: Vol. 1.
One of the highlights from the Chakushin Ari was when the media found out about the mysterious phone calls. When they heard of this girl that received one such call, they put her on the air in a TV special set to last until the appointed time of her death. "Will she survive? Exclusive Live Coverage!" It was like a New Year's Eve countdown. Pretty weird and disturbing concept for a TV show, but I wonder if reality TV will ever get to that point.
Anyway, it's a pretty fun and enjoyable movie if you don't mind the scares. I've got some cool new special effects to try and replicate now. ^_^
Okay, here's my other review. I finally saw Napoleon Dynamite. Lanie and Anissa were raving about it, so I had to find out what the big deal was. This movie is hilarious! There wasn't really a main plotline. The entire movie sort of reminded me of a live action version of an episode of The Simpsons. Small town with some weird characters and a story that changes direction every two minutes. I found the characters annoying at first, but they grew on me. The lines are great. It's probably has the most quotable lines since Dodgeball. I mean even just in writing, they're funny.
Trisha: Thanks for the beautiful drawing. It's hanging in my room right now.
Napoleon Dynamite: Really? It took me like three hours to finish the shading on your upper lip. It's probably the best drawing I've ever done.
Rex: I'm Rex, founder of the Rex Kwan Do self-defense system! After one week with me in my dojo, you'll be prepared to defend yourself with the strength of a grizzly, the reflexes of a puma, and the wisdom of a man.
Napoleon Dynamite: Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills. You know, like nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills...
I took off my bedsheets so that I can wash them. Between the sheets and the mattress, I found the strangest thing. There was a neat little pile of yellow-orange stringy stuff. It looked like a bunch of ramen or spaghetti noodles, but it wasn't soggy. I don't remember eating in bed recently. Anyway, I don't know what I was thinking, but as I was throwing the stuff away, I started to wonder what it tasted like. Big mistake. I soon realized (as I spat it out of my mouth) that it wasn't food at all. It was an old rubber band that was somehow ground up into little bits and neatly piled by my movements as I slept. Blech...
Lesson Of The Day: Rubber bands are like thicker and more elastic versions of dental floss without the minty flavor. Definitely not gourmet quality.
Movie Review Time:
Reading Amy's post about a mysterious call prompted me to watch Chakushin Ari aka You've Got A Call aka One Missed Call. The basic premise is that the characters receive a call on their cell phone. They find out that the call is from their own cell number with a time and date a couple of days into the future. The voice mail message is their own voice first saying something pretty normal like "It started raining" or "I'll take you to Popeye's" (jk). Then the message ends with a horrible scream. A few days later, when the time designated on the phone call arrives, the character dies a mysterious death. I don't know about you, but if I knew what my last words are going to be, I'd probably make an effort to avoid saying them. Sadly, the characters in the movie don't follow this advice. So... Manny, maybe you should refrain from offering to buy some chicken until you guys figure out that call.
Sure, it sounds like The Ring with cell phones or even an old Smallville episode, but this is probably one of the scariest movies I've seen in a while. Maybe it's because I can relate to a cell phone more than to VHS tapes. It's amazing how a simple everyday object can be turned around into a messenger of doom. Call me masochistic, but I changed the ringtone on my cell to the clown-like one from the movie. Creeped me out the first couple of times my phone rang. Anyway, here's my plan:
1. Find someone to watch the movie with me.
2. Have someone else call my cell phone afterwards.
3. Scream uncontrollably.
4. Repeat.
There were a couple more things of note. The main character was played by Kou Shibasaki who was in Battle Royale, another great movie. At least I know she's not getting typecast. In Battle Royale, she played this sickle-wielding psycho schoolgirl with acceptance issues. She's pretty timid in this movie. On the other hand, another actress from Battle Royale, Chiaki Kuriyama, looks like she may be typecast as a sadistic schoolgirl. You may recognize her as Gogo Yubari from Kill Bill: Vol. 1.
One of the highlights from the Chakushin Ari was when the media found out about the mysterious phone calls. When they heard of this girl that received one such call, they put her on the air in a TV special set to last until the appointed time of her death. "Will she survive? Exclusive Live Coverage!" It was like a New Year's Eve countdown. Pretty weird and disturbing concept for a TV show, but I wonder if reality TV will ever get to that point.
Anyway, it's a pretty fun and enjoyable movie if you don't mind the scares. I've got some cool new special effects to try and replicate now. ^_^
Okay, here's my other review. I finally saw Napoleon Dynamite. Lanie and Anissa were raving about it, so I had to find out what the big deal was. This movie is hilarious! There wasn't really a main plotline. The entire movie sort of reminded me of a live action version of an episode of The Simpsons. Small town with some weird characters and a story that changes direction every two minutes. I found the characters annoying at first, but they grew on me. The lines are great. It's probably has the most quotable lines since Dodgeball. I mean even just in writing, they're funny.
Trisha: Thanks for the beautiful drawing. It's hanging in my room right now.
Napoleon Dynamite: Really? It took me like three hours to finish the shading on your upper lip. It's probably the best drawing I've ever done.
Rex: I'm Rex, founder of the Rex Kwan Do self-defense system! After one week with me in my dojo, you'll be prepared to defend yourself with the strength of a grizzly, the reflexes of a puma, and the wisdom of a man.
Napoleon Dynamite: Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills. You know, like nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills...
